Fireplace front or screen



Aug. 5, 1969 J. E. LYDLE FIREPLACE FRONT OR SCREEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 13, 1967 FIG, i

INVENTOR. John E. Lydlc At torneq 1969 J. E. LYDLE 3,459,173

FIREPLACE FRONT OR SCREEN Filed Dec. 13, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6

25 j 3 INVENTOR.

John E. Lydle BY LWW Attorney United States Patent 3,459,173 FIREPLACE FRONT 0R SCREEN John E. Lydle, P.0. Box 1094, Akron, Ohio 44321 Filed Dec. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 690,156

Int. Cl. F24c 15/04; F24b 1/18 US. Cl. 126-202 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Fireplace front having frame attachable in fireplace opening, has closure panel means generally of a heatproof glass. Bottom strip of frame has a draft chamber therein and adjustable, fully concealed draft control means operable by knob at top of the frame through concealed linkage to adjust control means. Draft air entering hollow chamber through perforated front wall of bottom frame strip continuously by-passed, through fiuted passages above draft control, and diverted upwardly as Wall of air which equalizes temperature of heat-proof glass, more effectively minimize glass breakage and maintain the inner face of closure panel free of fl-ying particles from fireplace fuel-burning unit.

Background of inventiorv.Prior Patent No. 2,707,946, dated May 10, 1955, shows a fireplace front of the gen eral type disclosed herein. The prior patent, however, has a frame including perforate channel-shaped bottom strip to supply cooling air to an elongated inner air-deflecting scoop and to direct upwardly behind the heatproof glass for equalizing the temperature of the glass. Additional heat equalizing air was allowed to pass behind the glass panels through slits provided between sections thereof. Sliding draft plates of the aforesaid draft opening means in the forwardly exposed bottom strip could only be adjusted by a person stooping to reach the operating knobs on slidable slide plates near the floor. Such draft opening means made it difficult to clean or polish the bottom frame strip, especially around the draft plates and operating knobs thereof.

Summary of invention.The present invention contemplates the provision of a greatly improved fireplace front, wherein the bottom strip of the frame has wall means defining a hollow chamber. A front wall of said bottom strip is decoratively perforated for inward passage of draft air to said hollow chamber, and a back wall thereof has draft opening means therein and concealed means for controlling the draft opening size from a point near the top of the frame, that is, without requiring the operator to stoop. The bottom frame strip also has concealed passage means, inwardly of the frame and above the draft opening, for by-passing an adequate supply of draft air upwardly from the chamber to form a vertical wall of air behind the closure panel means and adapted to maintain the heat-proof glass at uniform temperature, as well as to keep the inner surfaces of the panel free from flying particles from the fireplace.

(hie object of the present invention is to provide in a fireplace front of the character described improved draft means which leaves the bottom strip of the frame free of moving parts which would otherwise interfere with cleaning or polishing brass surfaces of the frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide fireplace front of the character described having improved means for providing a method and means for creating a more effective vertical wall of ambient air behind the closure means, to equalize the temperature of the heat-proof glass as well as to prevent accumulation of flying particles from the fireplace on the inner surfaces of the closure panel means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fire- "ice place front of the character described having improved draft control means by which is obviated the need for the operator to stoop to the bottom of the fireplace front in order to operate the draft control means.

These and other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following brief description and the accompanying drawings.

Of the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, illustrating the improved fireplace front of the invention suitably attached in a fireplace opening.

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal cross-section, on the same scale, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged vertical crosssection, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a further enlarged fragmentary cross-section, taken substantially on the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a back or interior view of the fireplace front shown in FIGURE 1, and on the same scale.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section ta'ken substantially on the line 66 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary cross-section taken substantially on the line 77 of FIGURE 5, and on the same scale.

Referring to FIGURES 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, there is illustrated a fireplace front or screen S embodying the features of the invention, including a rectangular frame 10 having narrow side strips 11 and '12, a narrow top strip and a relatively narrow but wider bottom strip 14, all suitably rigidly connected and adapted to overlie the side and top edges of the usual fireplace opening F. The frame may be affixed in the opening F as by use of any suitable clamping means 15, 15, as indicated in FIGURE 2, and for this purpose the frame, generally, may have inturned flange portions 16, 16 for adjustable flatwise engagement with front face surfaces 17 of the fireplace within a substantial range of sizes of openings F, the lower edge of the frame, of course, being mounted to be in engagement with the hearth H of the fireplace (see FIGURE 3).

As best shown in FIGURES 2, 3, and 6, the encircling frame 10 may have a peripheral seat means 19 around an opening 20 thereof aproximating substantially the overall size of the frame, and closure panel means 21, 21 generally of heat-proof glass may be seated in said seat means 19 and movably connected to the frame, as by being hinged to the side strips 11 and 12, as best shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 6. For the purpose of illustrating the present invention, the closure means 21 may comprise a pair of oppositely hinged door frames 22, 22 each containing a sheet 23 of uniformly thin high heat-resistant glass, of the type generally known as Herculite, manufactured by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, to present a major area of transparent glass through which a fire in the fireplace will be substantially free and unobstructed to the view. The doors may be releasably held closed, as by means of resilient sealing strips 22a secured around the peripheral seat means 19. The glass panels are adapted to absorb heat from a fire in the fireplace and radiate the heat uniformly outwardly of the fireplace frame.

Referring to FIGURES 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, improved means is provided in the bottom strip 14 for controlling passage of draft air to the fireplace fuel box and to keep the glass panels at uniform temperature. To this end, the bottom strip 14 may have front and back walls 24 and 25, respectively, connected by top and bottom walls 26 and 27 to form a substantially closed hollow, air-containment chamber 28, the frame wall 24 being substantially uniformly perforated as by a multiplicity of small holes 29, 29, or by provision of decorative perforations of the type obtainable in expanded sheet metal, through which perforations ambient draft air continuously enters said chamher 28. The unexposed back wall of the bottom strip may have adjustable draft opening means thereon for passage of draft air from chamber 28 to fuel-burning space of the fireplace. This draft opening means may comprise a draft plate 31 slidably mounted on the inner wall 25 within the chamber, for selectively mating draft apertures 32, 32 in plate 31 with similar apertures 33, 33 in said back wall.

For selectively adapting the aforesaid pasage of draft air, without requiring the user of the fireplace screen to stoop, rod 35 may extend from one end of the draft plate 31 to the lower end of the adjacent frame side strip 12, pivotally to connect with the lower end of an elongated lever 36, which is suitably pivotally supported at 37 intermediate the ends thereof, to the side strip, and has an upward extension 38 connected to a pin 39 slidably mounted through the outer edge wall 40 of the side strip 12. By substantially effortless push-pull actuation of an outwardly presented knob 41 on pin 39, the slide plate 31, through the lever linkage to the rod 35, is easily operable from a standing position to open or close the draft openings, or to adjust the effective size of the draft openings.

For maintaining the temperature of the heat-proof glass panels 23, 23, the back wall 25 of the bottom strip 14 may have formed therein, above the draft opening 42, a plurality of relatively closely spaced, funnel-shaped flutes 43, 43 for by-passing substantial amount of draft air directly from said chamber 28 as a substantially thick, upwardly flowing wall of relatively cool air behind the closure panel means. This serves to moderate the temperature of the glass as well as to provide an effective means for keeping the glass doors clean and free of flying particles from the fuel-burning unit of the fireplace.

In use of the improved fireplace front, securely affixed in association with a fireplace as best shown in FIGURES l, 2, 5, and 6, and with a fire burning in the usual fire box (not shown) of the fireplace, ambient air continuously flows through the front wall perforations 29 to the substantially closed chamber 28 in the bottom frame strip 14, thereby to supply draft air through the mating draft openings 32 and 33 to the underside of the fuel box. Ambient air in the chamber 28 also continuously flows through the series of fluted passages 43 above the draft opening to direct the relatively thick wall of cooling air upwardly in a substantially vertical plane behind the glass closure panels 21. This wall of moving air effectively tends to keep the glass panes of these closure panels at uniform temperature, as well as to prevent flying particles from the fuel-burning space in the fireplace from accumulating on the glass panes independently of any adjustment of the damper side plate 3-1 between fully opened and fully closed positions. The moving wall of air maintained behind the glass panes will be substantially constant in all positions of operation of the draft means 30, which may be easily manually controlled from a standing position by operation of the knob 41, through the lever 36, to move the slide plate 31. That is, operating and closing draft means does not substantially interfere with maintenance of a constant wall of air behind the closure panel.

Air is constantly fed into chamber 28 through the multiplicity of small apertures 29 in the wall 24 of frame strip 14, as long as the usual damper means (not shown) of the fireplace is kept open, whether the draft opening means 30 is opened or closed. Accordingly, under these conditions, there will always be air flowing from the chamber 28 through flutes 43, to keep the glass panels 23 clean. This continuous movement of air also serves to keep the chamber 28 free of dust or other particles. Also, because the front wall 24 of the bottom frame strip 14 with the small apertures 29 therein is substantially smooth, that part of the unit is as easy to clean and polish as the side and top strips of the frame, such as when these parts have a brass finish. When draft means 30 is open, the rate of flow of temperature-equalizing air from the flutes 43 increases in proportion to the flow area of the draft openings. Consequently, temperature-equalizing effect on the glass panels is likewise increased in pro portion to the resultant increase in heat absorbed by the glass panels. One or more air passage slits 45 may be provided in the glass door panels 21, generally as shown in chain-dotted lines in FIGURE 6 and as disclosed in said US. Patent No. 2,707,946, further to insure against glass damage due to possible uneven absorption of heat by the panels.

Modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fireplace front of the character described, a unit comprising: a frame having top, bottom and side strips defining a frame opening; means for affixing said frame in the usual opening of a fireplace to be in front of a fuel burning space therein; and closure panel means generally of transparent, relatively high heat-resisting character mounted in said frame opening to provide for substantially uniform radiation of fireplace heat therefrom; said bottom strip having walls, including front and back walls, defining a hollow chamber; said front wall of the bottom strip having therethrough a multiplicity of spaced relatively small apertures communicating with said hollow chamber for inward passage of draft air thereto from the exterior; said back wall having adjustable draft opening means therein and adjusting means for controlling the draft opening size for inward passage of draft air from said chamber to the fuel burning space; said draft opening means including an apertured draft plate slidably mounted on said inner wall, and selectively mating draft apertures in said draft plate and said back wall of the bottom strip; adjusting means including an extension from said draft plate to the lower end of the adjacent said frame side strip, a control element shiftably mounted adjacent the upper end of said adjacent frame side strip, and a lever pivotally mounted within said adjacent frame side strip and having opposite upper and lower lever arm extents connected to said control element and said draft plate extension, respectively, whereby said control element is operable at the top of said frame and through said lever slidably to adjust said draft plate for controlling said draft opening size.

2. In a fireplace front of the character described, a unit comprising: a frame having top, bottom and side strips defining a frame opening; means for affixing said frame in the usual opening of a fireplace to be in front of a fuel burning space therein; and closure panel means generally of transparent, relatively high heat-resisting character mounted in said frame opening to provide for substantially uniform radiation of fireplace heat therefrom; said bottom strip having walls, including front and back walls, defining a hollow chamber; said front wall of the bottom strip having therethrough a multiplicity of spaced relatively small apertures communicating with said hollow chamber for inward passage of draft air thereto from the exterior; said back wall having adjustable draft opening means therein and adjusting means for controlling the draft opening size for inward passage of draft air from said chamber to the fuel burning space; said bottom strip having a passage means therein above said draft openings for by-passing draft air upwardly from said chamber, as a vertically flowing wall of air adapted to equalize the temperature of said transparent closure panel means, and tending to keep the inner surfaces of the closing panel means free of flying particles from the fuel burning space; said passage means including laterally spaced fluted portions on said bottom strip for divergently funneling said by-passed air upwardly to form said flowing wall of air; said draft opening means including an apertured draft plate slidably mounted on said inner wall, and selectively mating draft apertures in said draft plate and said back wall of the bottom strip; adjusting means including an extension from said draft plate to the lower end of the adjacent said frame side strip, a control element shiftably mounted adjacent the upper end of said adjacent frame side strip and having opposite upper and lower lever arm extents connected to said control element and said draft plate extension, respectively, whereby said control element is operable at the top of said frame and through said lever slidably to adjust said draft plate for controlling said draft opening size.

3. In a fireplace front of the character described, a unit comprising: a frame having top, bottom and side strips defining a frame opening; means for affixing said frame in the usual opening of a fireplace to be in front of a fuel burning space therein; and closure panel means generally of transparent, relatively high heat-resisting character mounted in said frame opening to provide for substantially uniform radiation of fireplace heat therefrom; said bottom strip having walls, including front and back walls, defining a hollow chamber; said front wall of the bottom strip having therethrough a multiplicity of spaced relatively small apertures communicating with said hollow chamber for inward passage of draft air thereto from the exterior; said back wall having adjustable draft opening means therein and adjusting means for controlling the draft opening size for inward passage of draft air from said chamber to the fuel burning space; said bottom strip having passage means therein above said draft openings or by-passing draft air upwardly from said chamber, as a vertically owing wall of air adapted to equalize the temperature of said transparent closure panel means, and tending to keep the inner surfaces of the closing panel means free of flying particles from the fuel burning space; said draft opening means including an apertured draft plate slidably mounted on said inner wall, and selectively mating draft apertures in said draft plate and said back wall of the bottom strip; adjusting means including an extension from said draft plate to the lower end of the adjacent said frame side strip, a control element shiftably mounted adjacent the upper end of said adjacent frame side strip, and a lever pivotally mounted within said adjacent frame side strip and having opposite upper and lower lever arm extends connected to said control element and said draft plate extension, respectively, whereby said control element is operable at the top of said frame and through said lever slidably to adjust said draft plate for controlling said draft opening size.

4. In a fireplace front of the character described, a unit comprising: a frame having top, bottom and side strips defining a frame opening; means for afiixing said frame in the usual opening of a fireplace to be in front of a fuel burning space therein; and closure panel means generally of transparent, relatively high heat-resisting character mounted in said frame opening to provide for substantially uniform radiation of fireplace heat therefrom; said bottom stri having walls, including front and rearward walls, defining a substantially closed hollow air-containment chamber; said front wall of the bottom strip having airinlet aperture means therein communicating with said aircontainment chamber for inward passage of draft air thereto from the exterior; said rearward wall having adjustable draft opening means therein and adjusting means for controlling the draft opening size for directing inward passage of draft air from said hollow air-containment chamber toward the fuel burning space; said bottom strip having passage means therein independently of said draft opening means for by-passing draft air from the exterior upwardly of said air-containment chamber, as a vertically flowing wall of air adapted to equalize the temperature of said transparent closure panel means, and tending to keep the inner surfaces of the closing panel means free of flying particles from the fuel burning space.

5. A unit as in claim 4, said passage means including laterally spaced fluted portions on said bottom strip, communicating with said air-containment chamber for divergently funneling said by-passed air upwardly to form said flowing wall of air.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,747,568 5/1956 Dupler 126140 X 3,162,188 12/1964 Tompers 126-140 3,372,689 3/1968 Goudy 126l40 EDWARD G. FAVORS, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 126-138 

